Thursday, 28 February 2013

Glenlivet

Glenlivet, on the north-eastern shore of Lake Kyle, is one of Fort Victoria's
most scenic areas.

Two routes can be taken to Glenlivet from Fort Victoria. Either go out on
the Birchenough Bridge road, travel for approximately 27 km, and then turn off
to the right; or take the road to the Zimbabwe side of Lake Kyle, cross the dam
wall and continue on the scenic Murray McDougall Drive, which offers some of the
finest mountain scenery in the district, through tribal trust lands,

The area runs along the Mtilikwe arm of the lake, and at several points on
the road overlooking the tranquil waters, most attractive laybys have been made.
Long stretches of the road are flanked by well-wooded areas of tall gum trees,
stretching to the backdrop of the colourful Nyuni Mountains, which are
especially attractive during September, when the Msasa (small shrubby African
tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant green flowers are in
full bloom.) There is an abundance of bird life.

A family hotel with a lake view nestles in the folds of the hills, and
there is a caravan park on the shoreline, where boats and caravans are available
for hire. Fishing and boating are popular in the area.

5 Comments:

My brother-in-law and sister farmed on the south side of Nyuni mountain on the farm Chevdon from 1945.

When the Kyle dam was built it actually cut his farm in half, they paid him to build a small bridge on the east side of his farm over the Bevumi river in order to reach the south side of his farm.

Glenlivet was over the mountain north of the farm, we visited there quite often. There was a footpath up the mountain from Glenlivet and if you climbed to the top you could drink whatever the previous climbers had left under a rock at the summit but you had to replace it with your own drink.

When last I heard Glenlivet Hotel is still functioning commercially as a hotel. The major problem is that one of the outlet gates in Kyle wall ( Lake Mutirikwe) is jammed open (no timely repairs and maintenance -a Zanu-Pf ''shamwari'' fiasco ). This has resulted in the Kyle water level ...shoreline receding dramatically.....the lake is currently measured at around 18 % (after the main rains).... so the water that is usually captured and held ..... is escaping with no control. Sad but true !

My Mum and Dad( the lateBob and Margaret Carmody) retired in 1973 at Glenlivet, where they had built their dream retirement home very near where this picture was taken. My husband Allan and I were married at Glenlivet in March 1975.

Boet van der Walt ~ you must have farmed close to us on Tawamba behind Glenlivet, my late dads horse new it's way home from the hotel over the neck in the mountain you recall. Ron Carruthers & Ray Sparrow would chase down Eland & toss their hats on the horns as a past time. . . . . Legends Ian Carruthers